Locking mechanism for ice-box doors.



W. D. MARTIN & D. T. BJORK.

LOCKING MECHANISM FOR ICE BOX DOORS.

' APPLICATION HLED SEPT. 7. 1915.

Patented Oct. 31, 1916.

2 SHEETSSHEET l- W. D. IVIARIIN & D. T. BJORK. LOCKING MECHANISM FOR ICE BOX DOORS.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 7. I9I5.

VZSHEETS-SHEET 2.

Patented Oct. 31, 1916.

A human snares rarnnr ormcu.

WILLIAM D. MARTIN AND. DAVID 'I. BJORK, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

LOCKING MECHANISM FOR ICE-BOX DOORS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Get. 31, 11916.

To all-whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, I'VILLIAM D. MAR- 'IIN and DAVID T. BJoRK, citizens of the United States, and residents of Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in LOCkiHg Mechanism for Ice Box Doors; and we do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

Most houses and apartments new con structed are provided, either in :the kitchen or pantry thereof, with what is commonly known-asa built in ice-box or refrigerator. The ice-box or refrigerator is usually set in a recess or niche in the inner face of the kitchen or pantry wall, and the latter is provided with an opening whereby ice may be readily placed in the ice-box from the outside of the building. The ice-box is generally provided in its rear wall with a door for closing the opening through which the ice is passed in being placed in the box, and such door in being opened swings outward into the opening in the building wall. The opening in said wall is closed by a door on the .cmrtside thereof, and which outer door must be first opened before said ice-box door can be opened and ice placed in .said ice-box frrau the outside of the building. To guard against theft of the articles in the ice-box, the outer door is locked by a padlock vor the common form of key operable door look. In either case, the outer door must be locked and unlocked from the outside of the building, and this necessitates the occupant of the house leaving the same and going on the outside thereof whenever it is desired to lock and unlock the said outer door. In short, the occupant of the house must go on the outside of the same .to unlock the outer door and then wait until the ice is received and placed in the ice-box in order that said outer door may be locked. On the other hand, if the occupant of the house after unlocking the outer door is called away or leaves the house before the ice is received and placed in the ice-box, the outer door remains unlocked after the ice has been received, and there is an opportunity of the articles in the icebox being stolen therefrom during the absence of the owner.

.Our invention relates in particular to a novel form of locking mechanism for an icebox of the kind referred to and whereby .the outer door in the building wall may be unlocked from the inside of the house or room in which the ice-box is located, so that the ice-box door may be opened to permit the ice, when received, to be placed in the ice-box from the outside of the building. Said locking mechanism is so designed and constructed that opening the ice-box door fnom the outside of the building resets the locking mechanism, so that the outer door is automatically locked as soon as it is closed after the ice has been placed in the ice-box. Manifestly, the occupant of the house after unlocking the outer door need give no more thought or attention to locking said outer door after the ice has been received and placed in the icebox, for the locking mechanism automatically locks the said outer door as soon as the same is closed by the person placing the ice in said icebox. It follows, therefore, that the occupant of the house may leave the same after unlocking the outer door and remain away with the assurance that the outer door of the ice-box is locked after the ice has been received.

The invention consists further in the inatters hereinafter described and more particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings: Fig. 1 is a front elevational view of the outer door closing the opening in the building wall containing a built in ice-box and to which a locking mechanism constructed in accordance with our invention is applied; Fig. 2 1s a transverse sectional view taken on line 22 of Fig. 3; Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view ,sition; Fig. 5 is a sectional view, with parts in section, taken on line 55 of Fig. 3; Fig. 6 1s .a similar view of the parts shown in Fig.

.5, with the exception that said parts are shown in the positions they occupy when the inner and outer doors are unlocked and swung into fully open positions; said outer door being omitted for the sake of clearness of illustration; and Fig. 7 is a sectional view .of a detail .of construction to be hereinafter referred to.

Referring to the drawings, illustrating in detail a locking mechanism embodying the features of our invention, indicates the wall of the building in which an ice-box or refrigerator 11 is built in. As customary, said wall 10 constitutes the outside wall of the pantry or kitchen of the house or apart- 7 ment, and, as illustrated, said wall 10 is provided with a rectilinear hole or opening 12 extending therethrough and through which the ice is passed in being placed in the ice-box 11 from the outside of the building. As usually constructed, said wall 10 is provided in its inner face with a recess or niche 13 opening into the room in which the iceboX llis located, and said ice-box is set in said recess so as not to project too far into the room. The wall hole 12 opens into said recess 13, and the ice-box is provided in its rear face with an ice-receiving opening closed by a door 14. Said door 14 is hinged along one of its sides or vertical edges to the body of the ice-box by hinges 15, 15. Said door 14. in being opened swings outward and into the wall opening 12. As shown, said door. 14: is provided on the outside thereof with a handle 16, which may be grasped in opening and closing said door. Placed in said wall opening 12 is a frame 17, which forms an inner facing for said wall opening. Said frame 17 comprises upper and lower walls 18, 18 and side walls 19 and 20, respectively. Said frame 17 fits within said wall opening 12 and is provided with an outer flange 21, which extends around the same and overlaps the outer face of the wall 10 around the edges of the wall opening 12. Said frame 17 is preferably made of metal, and the walls and flanges thereof are made integral. In addition to its function of forming a facing for said wall opening 12, said 7 frame 17 constitutes a support for the outer Y door 22 of the said wall opening. Said outer door 22 is hinged "along one of its side or vertical edges to the frame 17 by hinges 23, As shown in Fig. 2, said outer door 22 is hinged to said frame 17 along the outer edge of the side wall 19 thereof, so that said door 22 will be hinged along a side edge opposite to the edge along which the ice-box door 14 is hinged. By so arranging said parts, the outer door 22 swings outward from the wall 10 on the side wall 19 of said frame,

while the ice-box door 14: swings outward toward the opposite side wall 20 of said frame. Said outer door 22 is provided on the outer face thereof with a handle 24:, which may be grasped in opening and closing said outer door.

In order to unlock the outer door 22 from the inside of the house or room in which the ice-box 11 is located, so that said outer door may be opened when ice is to be placed 'in the icebox from the outside of the building, and,.further, provide means whereby the outer door will be locked as soon as it is closed by the person placing the ice in the ice-box, we provide a locking mechanism constructed as follows: A vertically arranged lever 25 is pivoted between its ends by a pivot pin 26 to the side wall 20 of the frame 17. As shown, said lever 25 is located within the wall opening 12 and is pivoted to the side wall of the frame 17 adjacent the hinged edge of the ice-box door 14:. Pivotally secured to the upper end of said lever 25 is an operating rod 27, the inner end of which extends beyond the inner face of said building wall 10 and into the room in which the ice-box is located. Said rod 27 is provided at its inner end with a handle or knob 28, by means of which said rod may be grasped to pull or move the rod endwise inward. Pivotally mounted on said pivot pin 26 is a latch member 29, the outer end of which is provided with a downwardly opening slot 30, closed at its outer end and adapted to receive therein the upright lug 31 on the inner end of a keeper 32 fixed to the inner face of said outer door 22. Said keeper 32 is located inside of. the outer door 22 adjacent its free side edge. Said latch member 29 is loosely mounted on said pivot pin 26, and said latch member is prevented from dropping below a substantially horizontal position by a fixed lug 33 on the lower end of said lever 25. As illustrated, said lug 33 extends beneath said latch member 29, and when the outer door 22 is closed and the parts occupy the positions shown in Fig. 3, the upright lug 31 on the keeper 32 extends into the slot 30 in the latch member 29, and the outer door 22 is locked in closed position. Access to the articles in the ice-box from the outside of the building through the wall opening 12 is thereby prevented. In such position of the parts, the lever 25 occupies a substantially upright or vertical position, and the operating rod 27 is at the limit of its outward movement. To unlock the outer door 22, without leaving the room in which the icebox 11 is located, the rod 27 is pulled endwise inward, thereby swinging the upper end of the lever 25 toward the ice-box and swinging the lower end of said lever upward and outward toward the outer door 22. Such movement swings the lug 33 on the lower end of said lever 25 upward and raises or lifts the latch member 29 from the keeper 32, thereby releasing the lug 31 on said keeper from the slot 30 in said latch member. The outer door 22 is therefore unlocked .and may be opened so that the ice-box door 14 may be opened for placing ice in the ice-box from the outside of the building. (See Fig. 4.) To automatically reset the latch member 29 so that the outer door 22 will be automatically locked when the same is closed by the person placing the ice in the ice-box from the outside of the building, we provide the following construction: Slidably connected with the lever 25 is a member 34. Said member 34 is located above the pivot pin '26 and is slidablv connected with said lever ,25 by .a pin 35 fixed to said lever and extending outwardly through a horizontal slot 36 in said member .34. (See Fig. 5.) The head of said pin 35 is enlarged so that said member 34 will not become disengaged therefrom. As illustrated, :said slot 36 is closed at both ends. Said member .34 is connected with the ice-box door 14 by any suitable mechanism so that said member 34 will be moved en'dwise forward when said door 14 is swung open, and endwise rearward when said door 14 is swung closed. As illustrated, said member 34 is connected with said door 14 by a link 37, which has pivotal connection at its inner end with a rod 38. Said rod 38 is pivoted at one end by a vertical pivot pin 39 to a bracket member 40, the latter being preferably secured to the rear wall of the iceboX 11 adjacent the hinged edges of .the door .14. The free end of said rod 38 extends horizontally in front of said door 14 and slides through a member 41 swiveled in a bracket 42 secured tothe front face of said door 14. When the ice-box door 14 is swung open, ig. "6) the rod 38 :acts to move the link 37 and its rigidly connected member 34 endw-ise forward. And when said door 14 is swung closed, (Fig. 5) said member 34 is moved end-wise rearward.

To place ice in the ice-box,-the outer door 22 is first unlocked and fully opened, and then the ice-box door 14 is fully opened, as is apparent. Both doors remain open until closed by the person placing the ice in said box. In unlocking the outer door 22, said lever 25 is moved into the inclined position shown in Fig. 4, and in such position of said lever 25 the pin 35 thereon is in the path of movement of the inner end of said slot 316. (See Fig. .5.) In swinging the icebOX door 14 into open position, the member 34 is moved outward, and the inner end of the slot 36 therein contacts with the pin 35 and moves the upper end ofthe lever 25 outward.

Such movement of the lever 25 causes the lower end thereof to move clownward, thereby permittmg the latch member 29 to drop by gravity into the path of movement of the keeper 32. The slot 36 in the member34 is long enough so that the lever will not be moved inward when the innor :door 14 is swung closed. The outer door 22 is now closed, and in swinging said extends.

the lug 31- on said keeper, thereby locking the outer door 22 in closed position.

From the foregoing it is clear vthat'zthe outer door is automatically locked when closed after the ice has been placed inthe ice-box, and the occupant of the house or apartment in which our locking mechanism is installed need give no further thought to the outer door until the next supply of ice is to be received. The occupant of the house may leave the same after unlocking the outer door and be assured that the outer door will be locked when the ice-man closes .the same after placing ice in the ice-box from the outside of the building. Another advantage arising in the use of our invention resides in the fact that the occupant of the house is not required to remain about the house until after the ice has been received and placed in the ice-box in order to lock the outer door, for the locking is automatic, and the locking mechanism is set when the doors are opened to receive the ice, and are locked when the doors are closed.

As shown in 7, the pivot pin 26 is constructed as follows: In a threaded hole 20 tapped in the side frame wall 20 is screwed :a threaded bolt 43. The shank of said bolt is surrounded by a sleeve 44. The

inner end .of said sleeve is forced against the wall 20 lay the head of said bolt. The lever 25 and latch-member 29 are both mounted on said sleeve. By reason of the sleeve, the head of the said bolt 43 does not contact with either said lever 25 or latch-member 29, and consequently said parts 25 and 29 are not forced against the side wvall 20 by the head of said bolt.

As illustrated in 2, the :pull rod .27 is located on top of the ice box H1, and .said rod is guided and held in proper position by :a strap 45 secured to the top wall of said ice-box and spanning said rod.

To guide the upper end of the lever 25 in its swinging movement, we provide a guide plate 46 secured fiatwise to said frame wall 20. Said plate 46 is provided with a horizontal slot 47, through which the lever 25 The portion of said plate 46 above said slot 47 is offset laterally outward from the part of said plate below said slot. Consequently, a portion of said lever 25 is in front of said plate 46 below said :slot 47,

and the upper portion of said lever25 is behind the part of said plate above said slot 47.

Although butone form of a lockingmechanism embodying our invention has been shown and described in detail herein, it is to be of course understood that the details of construction and arrangement of parts wish to be restricted to the details of construction and arrangement of parts shown,

except as pointed out in the annexed claims.

We claim as our invention:

1. The combination with a building wall having an opening therethrough, of an icebox or the like located on one side of said wall and provided with an opening communicating with said wall opening, a door for closing said wall opening, a latch-member for locking said door in its closed position, means operable from the ice-box side of said wall for moving and holding said latch-member in its unlocked position, while said door is closed, and means operable from the inside of said door for resetting and V holding said latch-member in its locking position and permitting said latch-member to efiect the locking of said door, when the same is moved into its closed position.

.2; The combination with a building wall having an opening therethrough, of an iceboX or the like located on one side of said wall and'provided with an opening communicating with said wall opening, an inner door and an outer door, the former for closing said ice-box opening and the latter for closing said wall opening, and locking mechanism for locking said outer door in its closed position, including means whereby said outer door may be unlocked, and also means operable upon opening said inner door for resetting said locking mecha nism in its locking position, so that said outer door will be automatically locked when moved into its closed position.

3. The combination with two doors, one being arranged opposite the other, of a latch-member for locking one of said doors in its closed position, means for moving said latch-member into its unlocked position, and means operable upon opening the other door for resetting saidlatch-member in its locking position, so that the first mentioned door will be automatically locked when moved into its closed position.

l. The combination with two doors, one being arranged opposite the other, of a latch-member for locking one of said doors in its closed position, means for moving said latch-member into its unlocked position, and cooperating'parts associated with said latchmember and with the other of said doors, whereby said latch-member will be reset in its locking position upon opening the last mentioned door and thereby enabling the first mentioned door to be automatically locked when moved into its closed position. 5. The combination with two doors, one

being arranged opposite the other, of a latch-member for locking'one of said doors inits closed position, a lever having connection with said latch-member and adapted when moved in one direction to move said latch-member into its unlocked position, and

means connecting the other of said doors with said lever, so that upon opening said last mentioned door said lever will .be moved in the opposite direction and permit said latch-member to move into its locking position, thereby enabling the first mentioned door to be automatically locked when moved into its closed position.

(3. The combination with two doors, one being arranged opposite the other, of a latchmember for locking one of said doors in its closed position, a lever having connection with said latch-member and adapted when moved in one direction to move said latchmember into its unlocked position, and a member connected with the other of said doors, said lever and said member being provided with coacting parts adapted to move said lever in the opposite direction upon opening said last named door and permit said latch-member to move into its locking position, so that said first named door will be automatically locked when moved into closed position.

7. The combination with two doors, one being arranged opposite the other, of a latch-member for locking one of said doors in its closed position, a pivoted lever having connection with said latch-member and adapted when moved in one direction to move said latch-member into its unlocked position, and a member secured to the other of said doors and having sliding connection with said lever, said lever and said member being provided with cooperating parts adapted to move said lever in the opposite direction upon opening said last named door, and permitting said latch-member to be moved into its locking position, so that said first named door will be automatically locked when moved into its closed position.

8. The combination with two doors, one being arranged opposite the other, of a latch-member for locking one of said doors in its closed position, a pivoted lever having connection with said latch-member and adapted when moved in one direction to move said latch-member into its unlocked position, and a member attached to the other of said doors and having sliding connection with said lever by a pin on the lever and a slot in said member; the inner end of said slot contacting with said pin and moving said lever upon opening said last named door, so as to permit said latch-member to move into its locking position.

9. The combination with a building wall having an opening extending therethrough, of an ice-box or the like located on one side of said wall and provided with an opening communicating with said wall opening, a frame set in said wall opening, a door hinged to said ice-box for closing the said opening therein, a door hinged to said frame for closing the wall opening, and locking mechanism for locking said last named door in its closed position, including means whereby said last named door may be unlocked from the ice-box side of said wall, and also means operable upon opening said icebox door for resetting said locking mechanism, so that said frame door will be automatically locked when moved into its closed position.

10. The combination with a building wall having an opening extending therethrough, of an ice-box or the like located on one side of said wall and provided with an opening communicating with said wall opening, a frame set in said *all opening, an inner door and an outer door, the former for closing the said ice-box opening and the latter for closing said wall opening, said outer door being hinged to said frame, a latch-member pivoted to said frame and adapted to engage said outer door and lock the same in its closed position, a lever pivoted to said frame and adapted to move said latch-member into its unlocked position when said lever is moved in one direction, and a member connected with said inner door and having sliding connection with said lever, said member and said lever having cooperating parts adapted to move said lever in the opposite direction upon opening said inner door, so as to permit said latch member to move into its locking position and effect the locking of said outer door when moved into its closed position.

In testimony, that we claim the foregoing as our invention, we aflix our signatures in the presence of two witnesses, this 30th day of August, A. D. 1915.

WILLIAM n; MARTIN. DAVID 'r. BJORK.

Witnesses:

EUGENE C. lVANN, CLARA L. PEOPLES.

Copies of this patent may De obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G. 

